It is common practice to cover the exterior surfaces of buildings with aluminum or vinyl panels to protect the building and to provide a durable, aesthetically pleasing finish. Conventional building panels are generally comprised of long strips which are attached to one another to cover the exterior surface of the building.
Typical building panels include soffits and siding. Siding, which is generally placed on the side walls of buildings, is installed from the bottom of the building to the top of the building. When the siding reaches a soffit at the top of a wall, it typically requires a cutting or altering of the siding panel in order to fit the existing structure. A finishing system, such as a J-channel or undersill trim is typically employed to maintain a polished and straight appearance of the siding.
Soffits are generally used to cover the underside of roofs or eaves. Soffit panels are typically installed underneath of the roof and disposed so as to face a human observer standing underneath the roof. As with siding panels, an edge of the soffit panel is often inserted into trim accessory, such as a J-channel or an F-channel, to finish the soffit installation. The requirement for different trim accessories for the siding and soffit panels means that building contractors or distributors need to maintain an expensive inventory of multiple types of trim accessories for completing soffit installation.
Additionally, soffit panels generally include venting apertures which permit air to circulate into the attic space to prevent moisture damage to the roof structure. Typically, these venting apertures are comprised of holes disposed in the soffit panel. In most conventional soffit panels, these venting apertures are viewable by the casual human observer standing underneath the roof. Many people find these venting apertures to be aesthetically displeasing as they cause the soffit siding to appear discontinuous. Some people request that builders use non-vented soffit siding due to the appearance of vented siding, even though there may be physical drawbacks to non-vented soffits. For example, without proper ventilation, moisture may get trapped in the attic space. This trapped moisture can create structural damage such as rotting of the building components, and, in cold weather, can cause unwanted moisture build-up on the underside of the roof structure, which leads to the formation of ice dams.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,585 to Zaccagni discloses a combination siding panel-trimming and soffit-panel mounting member which is extruded in one piece from a polymeric material, and includes a back panel, an upper front flange for overlying a back edge portion of a soffit panel, a lower front flange for underlying the back edge portion of the soffit panel, and a back flange for engaging an upper edge portion of the siding panel. This trim accessory does not include any apertures for the venting of the soffit panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,793 to MacLeod et al. discloses a combined soffit vent and bracket apparatus formed from a one-piece plastic extrusion which receives and secures a soffit and siding panel. The apparatus includes a vent panel having vent openings. These openings are clearly visible to an observer when the apparatus is installed onto a building.
Thus, there is presently a need for a trim accessory which integrates a soffit and siding securing element while providing hidden roof ventilation.